Stockley advises on artwork for Whitworth Park

A new six metre high obelisk has been unveiled at Whitworth Park on Manchester’s Oxford Road.  The monument by French artist Cyprien Gaillard, made in collaboration with design engineers, Stockley, and Whitworth Gallery curator, Mary Griffiths, uses recycled bricks and concrete from demolished houses in Moss Side and Birley Fields, Hulme.

Gaillard said: “I have long been fascinated with the traditional obelisk form and creating this new one for the Whitworth Park I wanted bring in elements of the history of the area, while making it a modern structure.”

The obelisk sits on a 150-year-old plinth, which until the Second World War was home to a statue by George Tinworth called “Christ Blessing the Little Children.” The statue was removed to protect it but unfortunately it never made its way back to the park.